CHAPTER EIGHT

Bella and Charlie woke up bright and early on Sunday morning. They had each gotten a good amount of rest, and they had a free day before Bella began school on Monday.

"I think we should drive to Sequim today," Charlie said. "We need to go to Home Depot, the furniture store, and you need warmer clothes. You also need a rain jacket and a winter coat."

"I admit it's a lot chillier here. I only have two hoodies. We don't really need jackets in Arizona."

"Yeah, I know. We'll get you all set up."

"Oh, but, Dad. I'm going to have to borrow money from you. We haven't opened my new bank account yet."

"Bella, you are my child, and had Renee not stolen your support money, you would have had enough money to buy necessities like clothes. So, don't worry about finances. I'm in a much better position than your mother."

"I know, but…"

"No buts. Now, let's go. There's a good pancake house in Sequim we can go to."

"Ooh! Are we going to the Sunshine Cafe?" Bella asked excitedly.

Her father turned to her, perplexed. "I don't think I've taken you there, Bells. I just discovered the place this summer."

Oops! Bella had made another faux pas. "No, of course not. I googled it last night before I went to bed. I was looking for breakfast places. I got kind of hungry."

"Speaking of which, we also need to get some groceries into the house. I had to throw out the milk this morning. It curdled while we were in Arizona."

"It could be the duct-taped handle on the fridge, too."

"Yeah, yeah. I know. That's why we're going to Costco. Now that you're here, we need to replace the appliances. It dawned on me that I've been using the same appliances that my parents used when I was your age. I've made Deckers really rich over the years by having everything repaired constantly. That sneaky bastard never suggested that it would be cheaper to replace the items."

"Nice! Can I help pick them out?" Bella asked. Her father never replaced the appliances the last time she was here, which was roughly ten days ago when she really thought about it.

"That's why we're going together. Now, let's get to it. I'm hungry."

XOXO

By the time the pair got home from their day of shopping, they were exhausted. They needed to work out a schedule before they returned to school and work tomorrow. Bella thought it was unfair that she had to essentially repeat junior and senior years again, but at the same time, she had an edge over the other students. Plus, how many people could say they were given a second chance to fix their mistakes?

Currently, they were seated across from each other at the dining room table where her father was writing in a notebook, working out a schedule.

"Alright, let's figure this out. First, you should know that I go to the gym on weekdays at six am. You will be coming with me. You might as well start training for softball. Next, I'll be dropping you off at school in the mornings. After school, I want you to walk across the street to the police station. It doesn't have to be immediately after school. You can always walk to the library and complete your homework there. Also, if you choose to join a club and it's going to run late, I'll pick you up. Once softball season starts, we'll revisit the schedule.

"You said you wanted to work a part-time job, but it needs to be within the parameters I set for you—especially since you don't have your license yet. For now, I'm going to say that during the school year, with a pause during softball season, you can work on the weekends. In the summertime, you can work full-time if you want, and hopefully, you'll have your license by then. Unfortunately, there's no public transportation system in Forks, so it's limiting," Charlie explained.

"I can live with that, and don't worry, I only worked on the weekends in Arizona during the school year, too, because I kept to the same schedule as Emma. Captain or Mrs. Nez always drove us to and from work. Mom did, too, until she met Phil and started disappearing on the weekends," Bella informed him.

"It's good to know we're on the same page."

"Now, in case of emergency, I'm going to list your Great Uncle Quil and Aunt Molly as the contact. I would put Billy down, but he's in a wheelchair and won't be able to get to you as quickly. It goes without saying that if something goes wrong at home or school, or if you ever feel unsafe, call 911."

"Yeah, but have I even met Great Uncle Quil? I didn't even know I had a relative here." Bella asked. She had met Old Quil briefly when she was here the first time, but she had no idea he was her great uncle. She got the impression that he was a very stern man.

"Uncle Quil is married to my father's sister, Molly. They had a son, my cousin, who passed away shortly after you were born. He was my best friend. Sadly, my cousin left behind a son named Quil, who is a year younger than you. Quil, the youngest, would be your second cousin, or possibly a second cousin once removed? I'm not good at this genealogy thing."

"But how come I'm just finding this out now? I've visited you, and you never introduced me to them."

"Because I was an idiot and hung out with Billy and Harry, drinking beer most of the time. It wasn't until recently that I reconnected with Uncle Quil, and by sheer chance, too. He had gone to the diner to eat, there were no seats, so I invited him to sit with me. We talked, and I realized that I missed him and Aunt Molly. You see, I avoided him because it hurt so much to think about my cousin, and my aunt reminded me too much of my parents. It was stupid on my part because alienating the only family I had left was not the way to go about it."

Bella thought it would have been handy to know she had relatives who were Quileute. And suddenly, she had an idea of how to keep Alice and Edward away from her.

"Well, when do I get to meet them?" Bella asked excitedly.

"Sometime during the week. I want to get you settled first."

"Cool."

They went over a few more rules, such as curfew on school nights and on weekends, something that wasn't set the last time. "Let's say eight on the weekdays and eleven on the weekends—that's Friday and Saturday, in case you're thinking Sunday, too," Charlie said. "We can revisit this, too, of course."

"I figured as much. I never had a curfew with Mom, so this is a first for me. It makes sense to have one here, too, especially once I get my license."

Speaking of license, you need to study for your permit test. When you're ready, you take the test at the police station. As soon as you get your permit, I'll sign you up for driver's ed. I'll ask Ken Marshall where his daughter Katie goes. I think she might be in your grade. It's too late to take it through high school since it's already the middle of the semester."

Katie definitely was in her grade. She never got to know her well because she was part of the popular crowd, but Bella would be more assertive this time. It was a connection, albeit a very slim one.

About an hour later, Bella headed up to bed. She had a five-thirty am wake-up the next day. It was amazing how different this stay was compared to the first time around—mostly because she was dependent on her father for transportation. It was a pain in the butt, but it was also a good one because it forced her to spend time with Charlie.

The last time she arrived in Forks was in mid-January, and she had just gotten her license in Arizona. Charlie had purchased a rusty, old truck for her; they didn't really say much to her, and he mostly left her to her own devices.

This time, the situation was completely different. Her father had come running to her because she had been in danger, realized her mother was an unfit parent and made the decision to take custody of Bella. He wasn't thrust into the situation without warning. This time, it was a conscientious decision on her father's part to take control of the situation so he could resolve the issue and provide a stable upbringing for her.

Bella switched on her make-up mirror and said, "Mirror, Mirror. Hello, Mr Aki, are you there?"

Taha Aki suddenly appeared dressed like Lurch in the Addams Family, "You rang?"

Bella giggled at the sight of him. "What's with the costume?"

"It's Halloween in a couple of weeks, so I thought I'd try this one."

"Halloween? Is that significant? I wasn't here the last time."

"I don't know. It's your do-over."

"So, can I ask you a question?"

"That's what I'm here for."

"How come my dad didn't introduce me to Old Quil the last time?"

"Ah, that's a complex one. Much of it has to do with how neither of you took the time to get to know each other the last time. Your father was pretty sure you were living with him, not by choice, but simply as a place to live while you finished high school. And you proved that by immersing yourself with the Cullens and not with him."

"And everything is different this time because…"

"Everything is different because, for once, you reached out when you were in a perilous situation. It was good you left your phone on speaker so he could hear everything transpiring. You ignited the parental gene in him. Your father will be the first to admit that he isn't a perfect man, Bella, but like you, he is willing to change and work to correct his mistakes. With that phone call, he realized that he needed to be more present in your life. And when he saw how your mother abandoned you to raise yourself, he knew you deserved better than that. So, he made the decision to be a good parent to you, just like you've resolved to be a better daughter. Those changes have made a tremendous impact. Now, go to bed. You've got school tomorrow."